Takayama

Thank you for the generous comments, stars and hearts for yesterday’s snowy village - much appreciated! 

As the end of our trip fast approaches - yes I know it’s been going on forever - I’m eager to try to get up to date. The lengthy journal entries are very much designed to help us remember our trip - we’ve seen so much, I sometimes forget what we did yesterday! But I know several of you have had the stamina to read them to the end - so thank you! I’m going to try to be a bit more concise over the last week, but we’ll see whether I manage it! 

Our day around Takayama is a joy. The weather once again is glorious - crisp, dry and sunny. If only our winters were like this! 

We start at the riverside market, trying various foodstuffs on sale - including fish shaped custard filled pancakes! Then we buy the most gorgeous Japanese pyjamas for Lili  made by a lovely lady who sews and sells from the same shop! 

Takayama is a charming town - full of old wooden buildings and a hillside temple district. It’s here we head to next - complex after complex of snow-covered wooden temples, all set against a backdrop of the forest and a canopy of azure blue sky. ‘Magical’. 

The town is also famous for its sake breweries, most of which offer tastings.  Of course we have to partake and try to work our way through the 15 or so bottles on offer. We take small amounts in the little cup we’ve been given, but notice the Japanese tend to almost fill theirs. Anyway, I give up after 10; they’re all rather similar -thin dry sherry, with a few sweeter ones thrown in. G keeps going to the end. We do have a favourite one, but just can’t see when we’d drink it before coming home. 

A walk to a nearby pizza place gives opportunities for night shots - and of course the whole place is even more enchanting then. I’m afraid I just can’t face Japanese food at the moment. I’m still struggling with my cough and sleeping badly, so comfort food is the order of the day. 


My main today is the bell ‘tower’ or short of a temple in Takayama, with collages of day and night shots around the town